Phonographic apparatus



Aug. 26, 1941. F. E. RUNGE 2,254,048

PHONOGRAPHIC APPARATUS Filed May 51, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l inventor Aug.26, F RUNGE PHONOGRAPHIIC APPARATUS Filed May 31, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Patented Aug. 26, 1941 rnonooasrmc APPARATUS rank E. Runge, ,Oakiyn, N.1., assignor to Radio Corporation of America, a corporation of DelawareApplication May 31, 1940, Serial No. 337,994

16 Claims.

This invention relates to phonographic apparatus, and more particularlyto the carriage mechanism for supporting the cutter head in recordingmachines of the type adapted to record sound upon a blank disk forimmediate playback.

The primary'object of my present invention is I to provide a novelcutter carriage mechanism for disk recorders which will incorporategeneral improvements as to operation and handling.

More particularly, it'is an object of my present invention to provide animproved, compact and foolproof carriage mechanism which may becontrolled in such a manner that the careless dropping of the stylus orcutting needle on the record blank is practically impossible, wherebydanger of mining the blank from this cause is avoided. Another object ofmy present invention is to provide improved cutter carriage mechanismand feeding meanstherefor for feeding the cutter head across the recordblank which will be subject to much less wear than is characteristic ofcutter feed mechanisms heretofore known.

Still another object of my present invention is. to provide an improvedcutter head supporting carriage which may be easily manipulated by theuser either to bring it into engagement with the record blank or todisengage it from the record blank and which will remain in any positionof I provide an improved feed mechanism for the cutter head which willact in a positive manner and will not allow free movement of thecarriage supporting the cutter headunless the stylus thereof is firstremoved from the record blank. It is also an object of my presentinvention to provide improved cutter head feed, mechanism as aforesaidby means of which it is possible to utilize the maximum availablerecording area on the blank.

- Still a further object of my present invention is to provide animproved cutter head mounting by means of which the cutter head can bequickly and easily adjusted on its carriage to insure'a proper angularrelation between the cutting stylus and the surface of the record blank.

According to this invention, I mount a cylindrical supporting member ona pairof parallel guide rods for sliding movement thereon and rotatablymount on the supporting member a mounting member which pivotallysupports the cutter head. Preferably, the cutter head is so mounted onits carriage that it may be adjusted angularly thereon about the tip ofits stylus as I a center, whereby accurate adjustment of the needle withrespect to the record blank may be obtained to thereby insure the propercutting angle. The mounting member is comprised of two end-members whichpivotally support the cutter head carriage and an intermediate memberwhich is rotatable on said supporting member relative to saidend-members. A handle carried by said intermediate member and extendingradially outwardly therefrom affords means by which the mounting membermay be manipulated on the supporting member. The mounting member and thecutter head are movable as a unit on the supporting member when thecutter head is raised from the record, and an "over-riding 'clutchspring interposed between the supporting member'and the mounting memberis efl'ective to hold the aforesaid unit in any position of adjustmentand to prevent lowering of the cutter onto the record unless the handleis manipulated to turn the aforementioned intermediate member in amanner to release the clutch spring from looking relation with thesupporting member.

For driving the cutter head across the record blank, I provide a leadscrew which passes through the supporting member and which constitutesthe driving element for a gear carried by the supporting member andconstantly in mesh with the lead screw. A suitable friction clutch, alsowithin the supporting member, is arranged to uncouple the supportingmember (and therefore the aforementioned unit) from the driven gear assoon as the cutter head is raised from the record and to recouple thesupporting member to said gear when the cutter head is lowered down ontothe record blank. Since the driving element and the driven element areconstantly in mesh when the cutter head is disengaged from the recordand subsequently returned into engagement with the record, the stylusmay be brought back on exactly the same radius of the record as thatfrom which it was removed. I also provide the aforementionedintermediate member of the mounting device and the cutter headsupporting carriage with cooperative means whereby the cutter head isfirst raised slightly from the record prior to raising the wholeaforesaid unit to inoperative position and whereby, when said unit isbrought member to the driven geariust prior to engage cutter is loweredthereonto.

4 supported The novel features which I consider characteristic of myinvention are set forth with particularity in .the appended claims. Theinvention itself, however,-both as to its organization and method ofoperation, as well as additional objects and advantages thereof, willbest be understood from the following description of one embodimentthereof when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, whereinFigure 1 is an end elevation of my improved cutter carriage supportingmechanism with the guide rods and lead screw shown in section and withthe cutter head shown in operative position on a record blank,

Figure 2 is a sectional view thereof taken substantially along the lineII--II of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken wherein similar referencecharacters designate corresponding parts thoughout, there is shown apair of parallel guide rods and 3 upon which is slidably mounted forlongitudinal movement a supporting member 5 of cylindrical exterior formand provided with a shelf 1 and a pair of journal bearings 9 and II inwhich the guide rods and 3, respectively, are received, the bearingmembers 9 and II extending beyond the ends of the member 5. Thesupporting member 5 is also formed with a stepped wall I3 which isprovided with a pair of openings I5 and H, the member 5 being otherwiseof hollow construction and the opening IT being sufficiently large toreceive a rotatably mounted lead screw I9 which on the guide rods I and3 longitudinally along the lead screw I9 and that the lead screw l9, insuitable journal bearings (not shown), is rotatable relative to thesupporting member 5 within the opening ll of the wall l3.

Rotatably mounted on the exterior, cylindrical surface of the supportingmember 5 is a cutter head mountinggenerally designated as 20 andconstituted by a pair of end-members 2| and an intermediate member 23,the end-members 2| each being provided with a downwardly extending arm25 and being connected together at the arms 25 by means of a screw 21and at the top by means of a cross-piece or plate 29 and screws 3|.Longitudinal movement of the mounting 2|] on the supporting member 5 isprevented by engagement of inwardly directed flanges 2|a. of the endpieces 2| with the ends of the supporting member 5. Although the wholemounting 20 is rotatable on the supporting member 5 as a unit, theintermediate member 23 is itself movable on the mounting 5 relative tothe endmembers 2| for a purpose to be presently set forth in greaterdetail.

Pivotally mounted on conically tipped bearing pins 33 which arecarriedby the arms 25 is a' carriage 35 having a rearwardly and upwardlyextending arm 31 terminating in a toe 39, a forwardly and'upwardlyextending arm 4| provided with a pair of screws and nuts 43, and also aforward extension Secured to the back of a cutter head or other suitablesound translating device '41 which carries a stylus 49 is a rearwardly,and downwardly extending bracket 5| formed with an arcuate slot 53 whichhas as its center the tip of the stylus 49. By loosening the screws andnuts 43, which pass through the arcuate slot 53, the bracket 5| may beadjusted on the arm 4|' about the tip of the stylus 49 to provide theproper angular relation between the stylus 49 and a record blank Rsupported on a turntable T and with which the stylus 49 is in engagementin operative position. A coil spring 55 having one'end fixed to theextension 45 of the carriage 35 and its other end secured to anadjusting screw 5'! received in a bracket 59 on one of the members 2|and manipulated by means of a thumb-nut 6| serves to counter-balance theweight of the cutter head 41 and the carriage 35. By adjustment of thethumb nut 6|, the depth of cut of the stylus 49 in the record blank B.may also be controlled.

Rotatably mounted on the shelf 1 of the supporting member 5, ,as bymeans-of a floating pin 63 having an enlarged head, and in constant meshwith the lead screw I9, is a gear 65 which is constantly driven by thelead screw l9, the lower end of the pin 63 being received in an enlargedopening 66 in the plate I to permit the pin 63 to float somewhat (seeFig. 3). A resilient clutch element 61 shaped substantially as shown inFigure 6 and comprising a back wall 61a, a vertical wide wall 61b bentforwardly from the back wall 61a, and a horizontal plate 610 also bentforwardly from the back wall 61a is secured. to the wall |3 of thesupporting member 5, as by means of a screw 69 passing through the wall61b and threaded into the opening l5. The horizontal plate 610 of theclutch member 61 extends over the top surface of the gear 65,

as clearly shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 4, a friction washer 66 beingpreferably interposed between the plate 610 and the top surface of thegear 65, and a second friction washer 10 being preferably interposedbetween the lower surface of the gear 65 and the shelf I. The resilienceof the clutch member 61 causes it to constantly force the pin 63 in thedirection of the arrow A of Fig. 6 about the side wall 6'"), therebyholding the gear 65 firmly in mesh with the lead screw 9.

As soon as power is supplied to the lead screw I9, it begins to rotatein its bearings and immediately drives the gear 65 to cause it to rotateon its shaft or pin 63. The clutch member 61, being formed of resilientmaterial, is also so biased that the plate 610 thereof tends to move outof contact with the friction washer 68, so that normally rotation of thegear 65 does not serve to transmit power to the supporting member 5through the clutch 61. When, however, suflicient pressure is applied tothe plate 610 to press it firmly against the friction washer 68 and thegear 65, it is obvious that a coupling will be provided between the gear65 and the supporting member 5 to cause the supporting member 5 and theparts carried thereby to move longitudinally along the guide rods and 3and the lead screw l9, whereby to feed the cutter head 41 radiallyacross the record blank R. For this purpose, there 'is provided in thesupporting member 5 a bore H into which the enlarged head of the pin 33extends and in which are carried a coil spring 13 resting on the head ofthe pin 33 and a ball element 15 resting on the upper end of the coilspring 13. The intermediate member 23 of the mounting 23 is provided onits inner surface with a circumferentially extending recess or relief 11which tapers off at its ends and into which the spring 13 is adapted topress the ball 15 when the intermediate member 23 is rotated on thesupporting member 5, as by means of a handle 13 which may be threadedlyreceived in an opening 3| in themember 23. ,When the cutter head 41 isin the operative position shown'in Figure 1, the

recess 11 is located somewhat totheleft of the through the clutch 31 tothe supporting member 5, and therefore the supporting member and theparts carried thereby will cease movement along the guide rods I and 3and the lead screw I3. Upon returning the handle 13 to the position ofFig. l, the reverse action will, of course, take when the handle 13 israised toward the position shown in Figure 4, the intermediate member 23of the mounting 23 immediately begins to rotate on the supporting memberI and the relief or recess 11 is brought over the ball 15'. Just priorto this, the play between the roller 35. and the toe 33 has been takenup and the roller acts upon the toe 33 to cam the carriage 35 clockwiseabout its pivots 33 to thereby disengage and slightly raise the stylus43 from the record blank R. Since the ball 15 is now in the recess 11and pressure on the clutch plate 31c has been relieved,

the coupling between the driven gear 35 and the,

supporting member 5 is broken, and the carriage mounting will no longermove longitudinally along the lead screw 33 in responsethereto,-notwithstanding the fact that the gear 35 continues to rotate.Movement of the handle 13 upwardly causes almost immediate engagement ofthe shoulder I'3I of the member 23 with the end J31 of the spring I33and continued'movement of the member 23 thereafter causes the spring I33to tend to unwind and thereby relieve its grip from thesupporting member5 so that the mounting member 23 thereafter is free to rotate withoutbinding on the supporting member 5. Continued rotation of theintermediate member 23 in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Figures 1and a, will cause the short end I35 of the spring I33 to slip under thecross piece 23 and the long end I31- thereof to catch up with and engagethe crossplace and the supporting member 5 will again be coupled to thegear 35 to resume movement of the cutter head 41 radially across therecord blank R. The intermediate member 23 of the mounting I 23 is alsoprovided-with a circumferentially ex tending slot 33 into which the toe33 may extend and in which is carried a roller 35 rotatably supings 33in the member 23. -At one end, the memhead 41 may be'raised to a pointremote from ported on a rod 31 which extends throughope'm,

her 23 is cut away longitudinally and circum-' stopped within thelimitsof movement afl'orded i'erentially to form arecess ,3I terminating inshoulders 33 and 35. At its opposite end, the member 23 is recesseddiametrically and circumferentially to' provide an annular recessedportion 31 having a somewhat larger diameter than the remaining portionof the member 23. The latter end of the member 23 is also provided withalongitudinal recess 33 terminating in shoulders- 33 -and IN. A coilspring I33, having its ends I35 and I31 turned substantially radiallyoutwardly, is received in the recessed portion 31 and is thereforeinterposed between the portion- 31 of j piece 23. Thus, rotationjof theend-members 2I and the intermediate member 23 of the mounting" 23, thecarriage 35, and the cutter head .41, all as a unit, will be effected,whereby the-cutter the record-blankR, as shown in Figure-4. Move-' 'mentof the aforementioned unit in a clockwise direction, as shown in Figures1 and 4, is limited by engagement of the shoulder 35 of the member 23with the stop pin I33. If the handle 13 is by the shoulders 33 and-35'inicooperationwith the stop pin I33, the spring I33-will immediately.

contract again to grip the supporting member 5 with suflicient force to'releasablyflock the as- 'sembly in the adjusted position, so thatthere'is no danger of the cutter head falling back down onto the recordblank and causing injury to eithe shoulder 33 engages the adjacent endI35 of the intermediate member 23 and the external surface of thesupporting member 5'. The inside diameter of the coil I33 is slightlysmaller than the external diameter of the supporting memberthe springI33 and again, therefore, tends to unwind the spring I33. It will benoted that even in the fully raised position of the cutter head shown inFigure 4, the arms 25, are located below the horizontal "diameterpassing through the through the recess 33 with the end I35 thereof Ioccupying a position adjacent the shoulder 33 and the end I31 thereof,which is somewhat longer than the end I35, occupying a position adja-vcenter of the supporting member 5. Consequently, as the handle- 13 isreturned toward'the lowered position of Fig. 1, the. assemblyconstituted by the end members 2| of the mounting 23, the carriage 35and the cutter head 41 will follow the intermediate member 23 of themounting23 under the influence of gravity, and this action 7 willcontinue until the cross-piece or plate 23 has engaged the stop pin I33,whereupon further counter-clockwise rotation of the entLmembers 2I willbe prevented. 'The stylus 43 will not, however, be in engagement withthe record blank R at this time because the roller 35 will still beinengagement with the toe 33. Also, the ball 15 will still be in therecess. 11 and the supporting member '5 will not be clutched to thedriven gear 35.

, record, and manually operable means on said movement of the handle 19will move the intermediate member 23 to a position such that theadjacent bevelled end of the recess 11 will apply pressure to the ball15 and the spring 13 will be compressed to force the clutch plate 610into engagement with the friction washer 68 and the gear 65. At thistime, the roller 85 is still in engagement with the toe 39, andimmediately after the clutch plate 610 has been engaged firmly with thegear 65, the roller 85, receding from the' to 39, will permit thegradual lowering of the cutter head 41 to cause the cutting stylus togently engage the record blank, after which the roller 85 moves out ofengagement with the toe 39 and the handle 19 will come to rest by reasonof the engagement of the shoulder 93 against the stop pin I09. Thus,radial movement of the cutter head 41 across the record blank R willcommence at substantially the same instant that the stylus 49 is broughtinto engagement with the record blank and no loss of the -recording areaon the record blank will result.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that I have provided an improved cutter carriage mechanism whichis positive in action and which incorporates a number of novel features.By having the gear 65 constantly in engagement with the I lead screw l9,longer life of the mechanism is assured by reason of the fact that eachportion of the gear 65 suffers less wear than does the conventionalhalf-nut follower of the prior art mechanisms. Moreover, there is neverany clashing of gears with my improved arrangement because the gear 65and the lead screw l9 are never out of mesh. In addition, it will beobvious that it is possible, with my improved cutter carriage mechanism,to pick up or resume recording at substantially the point where it waslast left upon returning th stylus 49 to operative position after firsthaving-been removed from the record blank, depending upon the skillofthe operator.

Although I have shown and described but one embodiment of my invention,it 'will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many othermodifications, as well as changes in the one herein described, arepossible. I therefore desire that my invention shall not be limitedexcept insofar as'is made necessary by the prior art and by the spiritof the appended claims.

I claim as my invention: v 1. In phonographic apparatus, the combinationof guide means, a supporting member slidably carried on said guidemeans, a mounting rotatable on said supporting member, and a soundtranslating device pivotally carried by said mounting, said soundtranslating device being pivotally movable on said mounting relative tosaid supporting member andbeing rotatable as a unit with said mountingon said supporting member. I

2. In phonographic apparatus, the combination of guide means, asupporting member slidably carried on said guide means, a mountingrotatable on said supporting member, a sound translating devicepivotally carried by said mounting and adapted to have cooperativeengagement with a record, means on said mounting cooperativelyassociated with said sound translating device for effecting initialmovement of said sound translating device on said mounting to effectdisengagement of said device from the mounting for thereafter rotatingsaid sound translating device and said mounting as a unit on 'saidsupporting means to remove said device from ably carried on saidguidemeans, a mounting rotatable on said supporting member, a soundtranslating device pivotally carried I by said mounting and adapted tohave cooperative engagement with a record, means on said mountingcooperatively associated with said sound translating device foreffecting initial movement of said sound translating device on saidmounting to effect disengagement of said device from the record,manually operable means on said mounting for thereafter rotating saidsound translating device and said mounting as a unit on said supportingmeans to remove said device from adjacent the record to a pointrelatively remote therefrom, and means for releasably holding said unitin any selected position on said supporting member.

4. In phonographic apparatus, the combination of guide means, asupporting member slidably carried on said guide means, a mountingrotatable on said supporting member, a sound translating devicepivotally carried by said mounting and adapted to have cooperativeengagement with a record, means on said mounting cooperativelyassociatedwith said sound translating device for effecting initial movement ofsaid sound translating device onsaid mounting to effect disengagement ofsaid device from the record, manually operable means on said mounting.for thereafter rotating said sound translating device and said mountingas a unit on said supporting means to remove said device from adjacentthe record to a point relatively remote therefrom, and a spring clutchinterposed between said supporting member and said mounting forreleasably holding said unit in any preselected position on saidsupporting member.

5. In phonographic apparatus, the combination of guide means, asupporting member slidably carried on said guide means, a mountingrotatable on said supporting member, a-carriage pivotally carried bysaid mounting, a sound translating device carried by said carriage andadapted to have cooperative engagement with a record, said mountingincluding relatively movable members one of which includes means foractuating said carriage to raise said sound translating device slightlyfrom the record upon initial movement of said last named member on saidsupporting member, and means for thereafter effecting movement of saidmounting,said carriage and said sound translating device as a unit toremove said sound translating device from adjacent the record to apoint'remote therefrom.

6. The invention set forth in claim 5 characterized by the addition of aspring clutch interposed between said mounting and said supportingmember for releasably holding said unit in any preselected position onsaid supporting member.

I. The invention set forth in claim 5 characterized in that saidmounting has an annular recess therein terminating in circumferentiallyrotated on said supporting member, one or the other of said shouldersengages the adjacent of said offset ends to slightly expand said springand loosen said spring from said supporting member to permit freerotation of said unit on said supporting member, said spring contractingagain when rotation of said unit on said supporting member has ceased tothereby again grip said supporting member and-releasably lock said unitin the position to which it has been moved.

8. The invention set forth in claim 5 characterized by the addition ofcooperative means on said supporting member and on said mounting forlimiting the rotation of said mounting on said supporting member.

9. The invention set forth in claim 5 charac-. terized in that saidmounting comprises a pair of end members coupled together for unitarymovement, said end members pivotally carrying said carriage, and anintermediate member rotatable on said supporting member relative to saidend members, said intermediate member including the means for actuatingsaid carriage, characterized further in that said intermediate member isprovided with a recess terminating in a pair of circumferentially spacedshoulders, and characterized further by the addition of a stop pin onsaid supporting member extending through said recess for engagement bysaid shoulders to limit the rotation of said mounting on said supportingmember.

10. In phonographic apparatus, the combination of a driving member, adriven member as-- sociated therewith, a sound translating device, andclutch means for either coupling said device to or uncoupling saiddevice from said driven 'ment between said driving member and saiddevice at will.

12. In phonographic apparatus, the combination of a lead screwconstituting a driving member, a gear in constant engagement with saidlead screw and adapted to be driven thereby,'a

sound translating device, and clutch means for either coupling saiddevice to or uncoupling said device from said gear whereby to eithereifect or break driving engagement between said lead screw and saiddevice at will.

13. In phonographic apparatus, the combination of guide means,asupporting member slidably carried on said guide means, a mountingrotatable on said supporting member, a sound translating device carriedby said mounting, a

rotatable lead screw extending through said sup- 70 mounting said deviceon said carriage for anporting member and constituting a driving member,said supporting member, mounting and sound translating device beingmovable as a unit on said guide means longitudinally along said leadscrew, 'a gear. carried by said supporting member, said gear being inconstant mesh with said lead screw and being driven thereby, and clutchmeans carried by said supporting mem- 5 ber for. either coupling saidsupporting member toor uncoupling said supporting member from said gearwhereby to either efiect driving engagement between said lead screw andsaid supporting member to cause said unit to move along said guidemeans, or to break driving engagement between said lead screw and saidsupporting member to permit rotation of said lead screw independently ofsaid unit.

14. In phonographic apparatus, the combina- 1 tion of guide means, asupporting member slidgagement with a record, means for moving said gearcarried by said supporting member, said gear, being in constant meshwith said lead screw and being driven thereby, and a clutch carried bysaid supporting member for either coupling said supporting member to oruncoupling said supporting member from said gear at will whereby tocontrol the driving coupling between said unit and said lead screw, saidsecond named means including a portion associated with said clutch andarranged to uncouple said supporting member from said gear when saiddevice is disengaged from the record and to couple said sup- 40 portingmember to said gear when said device is brought into engagement with therecord.

15. The invention set forth in claim 14 characterized in that saidmounting includes a pair of end'members which pivotally carry said soundtranslating deviceand an intermediate member rotatable on saidsupporting member relative to saidend members, characterizedfurther inthat said intermediate member is provided with a relief, characterizedfurther in that said support- 5 ing member is provided with a bore,characterized further by the addition of a compression coil spring insaid bore and-a ball element supported by saidcoil spring, andcharacterized still further in that said clutch comprises a resilientelement fixed to said supporting member and having a surface adapted tolie against a face of said gear, said coil spring being arranged tonormally press said element against said gear to frictionally couplesaid element to said gear, and

said relief being so located in said intermediate member that, uponrotation thereof on said supporting member in a predetermined direction,said ball will be forced thereinto whereby to relieve the compression onsaid coil spring andthereby 5 relieve the pressure of said elementagainst said ear.

16. In phonographic apparatus, the combination of a carriage, a soundtranslating device including a stylus, and means for adjustably gularadjustment of said device about the tip of said stylus as a center. a

FRANK E. RUNGE.

